Darkness within the Light
by Zerid
Summary: All knows the story about the fall of Lucifer the archangel. History repeats, marking Takeru as the victim. How will his friends prevent the apocalypse that Takeru will bring? Will Takeru become the successful heir of Lucifer or will he fail like him?
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

Chapter 1

* * *

The hot day of August, it was the day when they were met up with their destined friends and journeyed through the alternate dimension. As promised since 6 years ago, the chosen children gathered at one place where they adventured to. The digital world was still at peace after the long struggle that the children endured 3 years ago. Peace was never interrupted again since the defeat of their last enemy, Diablomon. Now, they were reminiscing the days under the shade of a large grown tree, away from the sun's blazing heat waves. The children were enjoying their long waited reunion and talked brightly to each other. Many things changed since, but some things remained the same. Miyako was still a huge fan of Mimi, Daisuke was still a good friend with Ken, Taichi was best friends with Yamato, and Iori ceaselessly looked up to Jyou and Koshiro. Hikari was still the shining angel of the group and Takeru was still the gentle and caring person he always was. Only things that changed were everyone's appearances. The guys have grown considerably in heights and the girls' beauty became more refined. However, that was only the things that one could detect on the surface. What lied beneath the seemingly gentle surface was the turbulent storm, rampaging inside one special person. The one, granted with the special treasure that the bearer of light carries, had hidden his tempestuous mind to himself. He never let his feelings known, for it would pose a bother to everybody else, or so he thought. No matter how much he was scared, no matter how much he was angry, he never expressed his true emotions. Not his digimon, his own brother, and not even his friend, who bears the power of light, knew of this. Even on this memorable and cherished day, he kept his distance from his friends, afraid that something would trigger the time bomb he knew he had inside. Realizing that a familiar one is missing, she looked around and went up to the isolated person.

"Takeru? What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. Just standing."

He said with the usual, heartwarming smile which he always had. However, it was not the same. It was a fake smile to not worry his friends, so an unnatural element was blended into his smile. Hikari, one who he had spent most of his time with, immediately detected this slight difference and asked what was wrong.

"Is there something wrong, Takeru?"

"I'm just fine. Don't worry."

"Really?"

She asked in a worried tone despite the fact that he told her not to worry.

"Nothing is wrong, Hikari."

He replied with the same answer and relieved her worry.

"Okay. But if you want to talk, I'm here for you."

"Thanks."

Hikari gave a brightening smile at the tall boy. Then, Takeru answered her with a genuine smile that Hikari always found relaxing and soothing.

"Hey, what are you two doing there?"

The abrupt interrupter of this moment was none other than the boy who inherited Taichi's goggles. He came running to the two and talked.

"What were you two doing?"

"Just talking, Daisuke."

Hikari answered the jealous boy with a friendly voice.

"I was worried when I didn't see you two around. Come on, we're going to the ocean area now."

"Okay, sorry. Let's go, Hikari."

"Yeah."

She still had a slight worried look, but erased it from her expression in hope that there really was nothing wrong with Takeru. The two special chosen ones rejoined the group and headed to their next destination which was the vast ocean area of the digital world. After enduring a couple minutes of walking, the group arrived and took shelter under the parasol they brought with them. Except for Koshiro, Jyou, Takeru, and Iori, the rest plunged into the cool ocean water. Even under the heating sun, they all enjoyed the swimming. Liveliness was consuming the place and in the end, Iori and Jyou joined their friends in the water. Koshiro, who had been touching his laptop the whole time, ended up joining as well. Takeru was the only one left in the sandy ground, watching his friends play in the refreshing ocean water. Even under the shade of the enormous parasol, the heat relentlessly assaulted him and in hope of finding ease, he threw his consciousness into sleep. However, despite his effort, he could not request sleep. A constant roar echoed in his head every time he demanded his eyes shut. The voice sounded loud as if he had put a headphone on with a max volume. It was unbearably hurtful, but there was nothing he could do about it. Among the thunderous shout, all he could catch from the voice of the unknown was this.

"Why always light?"

It was weird to even think that. The topic was random and out of the blue. And yet, the familiarity of this was too immense. The memory revived to haunt him. It was the topic which their oldest enemy, Apocalymon, talked about. An ultimate darkness, that was what his existence meant to the world. He was a mere second grade boy in elementary school. At the time, he could not see the significance of the meaning. Why is it always the light that gets to smile and happy? When he was young, he thought that was the natural thing. Now, when his mind matured six years after, his opinion changed. His moral cried in devastating agony. Thinking profoundly, it was absurd. Genuinely, why is the light always the triumphant? What judged the light to be the savior and the rightful master of the world? What if the darkness was the one that wanted to bring peace to the world? What if they were wrong about the darkness? Many questions regarding this topic appeared in his mind, attacking him.

"_Your time has come_."

The sinister voice returned. This time, in a volume which he can comprehend. He turned around to see where it was coming from. But he found nobody near him. Everybody was losing themselves in joy in the water and he was left alone in the sand. He couldn't shake off the voice and frowned in discomfort and frustration.

"Who are you?"

He whispered silently and asked for the identity of the voice.

"_You._"

"I don't know understand."

"_Surely you remember me when your friend died._"

He gasped and recalled the tragic memory which he had locked away in the years that passed him. The battle of angel and devil, the one which he lost his partner digimon. The fear of losing one's friend, the unbearable agony, being a boy, he did not understand the concept with a full mind, but comprehended it enough to regret, detest, and demand a rewind of time. The unforgiving fate that traumatized him. He recalled how much sorrow he had to endure with his underdeveloped, fragile, boy body. Time did not stop for him, no God heard his prayer, and nobody could defeat the growing devil that his angel friend sacrificed himself to kill.

"_Perhaps you remember when you saw the same devil in the water vortex three years ago_."

Another horrific incident, the one which he saw the being that destroyed his friend. The moment when Ken had sought to complete his digimon abomination, Chimeramon. It was the second time when he experienced the fear and the fury he contained inside. Only difference between the two incidents was that Takeru expressed his negative emotion directly at the second encounter.

"_Yes. I'm you from those times._"

"This is impossible."

"_Why are you in denial?_"

"This is…just unreal."

"_What is so wrong with the materialization of your emotion_?"

"It can't be happening…it's just not possible."

"_And the digimons aren't?_"

This phrase silenced the chosen child of hope. He or whatever that was speaking to him was correct. This particular event was something not out of the ordinary when considering all the strange experiences he encountered.

"_Glad to see that you accept me_."

"Why now?"

"_Hmm?_"

"Why did you show yourself now of all the opportunities you must have had?"

"_Waiting for the right moment."_

"The right moment?"

"_The end of the reign of light."_

"What?"

"_The day of judgment. The day when apocalypse is at hand_."

"What are you talking about?"

It seemed to him that he was being ignored. It was as if he was talking to a person who was reading a book straight to him. Regardless of what Takeru spoke, the mysterious voice continued to deliver enigmatic speeches.

"_Will history repeat itself? Or will we be pardoned of our sins?_"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"_We will shoulder the Lucifer and the war will begin._"

"Luci…fer?"

"_Heroes will gather, but who will they vanquish?_"

Takeru had given up talking to the voice and began analyzing the sentences he had spoken, thinking that it might be a warning that a new enemy might appear.

"_Time is upon us. We grow powerful. This world will fall when the sun is blocked by the sphere of darkness. Then, the misjudged and the fallen will rise and swallow all that there is_."

After a brief pause, the speech continued.

"_Destination is decided, but how will it be reached? The world will rise and fight. Then, will die. New world will come_."

The speech ended and the voice did not speak anymore. Takeru was puzzled and perplexed by this bizarre incident. Sudden materialization of his negativity, confusing speech, and the prediction of the new world troubled him. However, more troubling event was about to show itself. The bright star lighted day was consumed by tempests and the clusters of dark clouds. The stinging summer sun light disappeared and the gusts blew across the ocean. Then, liquid particles fell from the sky. Was it a coincidence, unpredictable summer weather, or foreshadow of the upcoming danger? Whatever it represented, everybody came running out of the turbulent ocean and took shelter away from the ocean area. Daisuke grumbled as soon as they were resting in an old stone cave they found.

"Geez, why did it have to rain today?"

"It's summer, so you can't expect a predictable weather."

Ken comforted the displeased Daisuke. Sora commented how brotherly the two had become.

"You two really act like brothers now."

"Yeah, it's the opposite of how we acted when we were kids, huh, Yamato?"

"We were always at the opposite end of the rope back then, huh?"

Yamato responded to Taichi's comment that brought nostalgia.

"Come to think of it, don't you think everyone's becoming closer to some of us?"

Sora threw a question which everybody agreed. Iori was definitely becoming more knowledgeable and sincere like Koshiro and Jyou. Miyako became to be someone like a second Mimi and Sora, pure minded and motherly figure of the group. Daisuke and Ken developed a special bond that Taichi and Yamato still shares even today. Only people that remained the same were Hikari and Takeru. Hikari was still the brightest girl that brought smiles and light to the chosen children and Takeru was still the bitter love rival of Daisuke.

"The only one that didn't change are those two, huh?"

Jyou spoke, referring to Takeru and Hikari, who also happen to be sitting next to each other. Mimi commented after hearing Jyou's words.

"You're right. They're still the same as before."

"I'll take it as a compliment."

Hikari said gratefully as she smiled gently at Mimi. Then, Yamato jumped into the conversation and stirred the rivalry that Daisuke and Takeru had.

"And Takeru is still the closest to Hikari, isn't he?"

Then, predictably, Daisuke followed up with defensive words for himself.

"Hey, I'm just as close to her too."

This caused everybody to laugh and smile and Daisuke received a noogie from the one who he inherited the crest of friendship.

"I'm just teasing you, Daisuke."

Daisuke struggled to get out of Yamato's grip and Hikari giggled in a lovable manner.

"But Hikari, you really are becoming prettier every day."

Sora complimented the child of light.

"Thanks, but you're still the multiple times prettier than however I try to be."

"That's not true. You're very beautiful. I'm envious."

"Same here. I want to be as cute as her."

Mimi joined the conversation and soon, the girls were busy complimenting on each others' beauty and cuteness which were already top world class. Even though the environment was not the celebrative surroundings, the atmosphere was packed with liveliness and joy. They were all grateful for their luxury of being together to celebrate their memorable day and having the greatest friends they can ever hope to have. Soon, the rain had gone away and they came out of their hiding and enjoyed the sun light again. The group returned to the tranquil ocean and spent their entire day there until the sun began sinking down the horizon. Even until then, Takeru still did not enter the ocean. He remained in the sand, thinking about the mysterious words that he heard earlier. They cleaned up the food, drinks, and the beach stuff and headed back to the digital gate they came through.

"That was fun!"

"You're the same as ever, Taichi."

"You just don't know how to express fun, Yamato."

"I do in my music."

"That and this is different."

The two talked friendly and deepened their bond even more as they were exchanging light words and conversations. The one who envied these two was Hikari. She wanted to have a meaningful bond with Takeru just like their older siblings. With that desire in her heart, she started talking to him.

"Takeru, today was fun, right?"

"How can it be not?"

Takeru smiled and resumed talking.

"Today is when everyone can gather and have fun. That's why I like the first of August so much."

"Me too."

She smiled as well and walked by his side. Thankfully, Daisuke was ahead of the two and didn't see this scene. After taking numerous steps, they reached the TV that acts as the gate between the two worlds and held out their digivices to pass through. Then, the small TV glowed and the group was absorbed into it, passing through the gate and returning to the human world. Unlike the old times, everybody managed to stay on their feet properly instead of being thrown out of the TV and landing on their back, stomach, or any other body parts. Upon arrival, they sat down on the floor, chair and bed that they found nearby and discussed the plans for tomorrow.

"Tomorrow, we're gonna spend our day with our digimons, so everyone bring enough foods and beverages, okay?"

Taichi reinforced the food part since they didn't want to have anyone starving tomorrow. Being a daughter of a convenient store owner, Miyako proudly declared that she will bring tons of food for everybody.

"Jyou, you're gonna join us later, right?"

"Yeah, sorry guys, I got exams coming up, so I gotta study a little bit beforehand."

"That's alright. Take your time, Jyou."

Yamato reassured him and began explaining his schedule.

"For me, I got a band practice, so I'll meet up probably at 3 or 4 P.M."

"That's cool. Have a nice practice, Yamato. Alright then, I'll see you all tomorrow."

His best friend, Taichi, commented and dismissed the group. Most people exited the room and only four people were left remaining in the room. Those four were Yamato, Taichi, Hikari, and Takeru. The reason for staying behind was because Taichi, Yamato, and Hikari were sleeping over at Takeru's house. Yamato, being together with Takeru in a long while, wanted to stay over a night and Taichi felt the same way with Yamato. Being high school students, the two were busy and wanted to spend more time with the ones that they admire. Hikari didn't want to stay alone in the house without her brother and received permission to stay over in Takeru's house along with Taichi. Takeru's mom was gone for a week due to her work schedule and the house provided two beds. Being guests, the Yagami siblings were offered with the bed and Takeru gave an extra blanket so that he can sleep on the couch. The owner of the house chose to sleep on the ground in the living room and took out a pillow and a blanket.

"Hey, Takeru. You can sleep on the bed. I'm fine with the floor."

Taichi offered, but Takeru refused.

"You're a guest. I can't do that. Besides, the floor isn't all that bad."

"Still…"

"Seriously, I'm good with it."

"No, Takeru. Give me those things. I'll sleep on the floor."

Yamato said as he held out his hand to hold the pillow and blanket.

"You're a guest too."

"I'm also your older brother. And I want to sleep on the floor. You can have the couch."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I plan on staying in Taichi's room too."

"Okay. If you say so."

"Thanks, bro."

With that, the bed arrangement was completed and the four took showers before sleeping. Taichi and Yamato had gone into the same room and Hikari entered Takeru's room to sleep. Being left alone, Takeru walked to the living room with a blanket in his hand. The lights that peeked through the door had vanished when the clock passed the late hour of 10 and he sat on the couch, trying to decipher the meaning of the unsolved riddle that his negative consciousness delivered. However, his effort was futile since he was constantly interrupted by the same voice from the morning.

"_No need to think. You will learn soon enough. The dark sphere approaches. Tomorrow, the sun will have been partially rotted. It is close now. Just 3 days, the world will change. And no existence will be able to stop it."_

Takeru grunted as the voice resonated throughout his entire body, causing him to suffer a stinging pain. His body ignited and temperature rose. All his sweat glands released liquids to cool the flaming body. Briefly, he regained sanity and the normality of the body temperature.

"_Feel the blood boil. Feel the rush of the adrenaline. Unleash your true desire, release the emotions that you concealed, liberate the darkness within."_

The sharp pain and the burning sensation returned as the voice was heard again. Takeru groaned in pain and felt the ceaseless rising of his body heat.

_"Yes. Hate the situation. Detest the frustration. Lament the inability to ease the pain. Rue the world that had forbidden your existence."_

"Shut up! Go away!"

He shouted gently as he fought the excruciating pain. Then, his body turned to the mirror which hanged on the wall. He stared at it against his will and saw the reflection talk.

_"How can you make yourself go away? No matter where, I am your shadow. I am destined and blessed to follow you until the moment when you vanish from this realm."_

It was shocking, but being exposed to this kind of supernatural and unexplainable occurrences multiple times in his life, he remained tranquil and demanded the identity in the mirror to cease talking.

"Stop talking. You're hurting me."

"_Don't you mean you're hurting yourself?_"

"I'm not. You're the one…"

"_I stay truthful to our emotion. The one that causes pain in your body is your anger towards me. Express yourself. A balloon can only hold so much air before finally exploding._"

"Screw that. I know what I'm doing. I know what you're planning. I won't do it."

"_Ka….boom_."

"I know that darkness is inside me. I won't release it. I won't let it out."

"_The sink will eventually leak. Once it does, you won't be able to stop the overflow. The damage that it will cause is certain, for enough will have been spilled once you realized the flood_."

After saying that, the reflection did not move on its own again. Takeru regained the ability to manipulate his own reflection's movement. No voice was heard, but still, his body was covered in both hot and cold sweat from this incident. Wanting to rest, Takeru lied down on the couch and shut his eyes to seek comfort. He eradicated the light in the house and slept soundly. He feared of the future event that will come soon. Many predictions came to his mind, but the true event will have been too overwhelming and the immense degree of the future apocalypse was too vast to even think about imagining. A devastating future was right in front of the door step and when it turns the knob, an unbelievable armageddon will have rained on the universe.

* * *

I wanted to write a story which Hikari is ice cold, but wanted to write a fantasy story first. Curse my change of mood and writing desire.


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning

Sorry if I was late to mention this, but I put the character's name from the Japanese series. I'm sure you all know who's who, but just in case, here's a note for those who don't know.

(Taichi Yagami: Tai Kamiya) (Hikari Yagami: Kari Kamiya) (Yamato Ishida: Matt Ishida) (Koshiro Izumi: Izzy Izumi) (Jyou Kido: Joe Kido) (Takeru Takaishi: T.K. Takaishi)

(Daisuke Motomiya: Davis Motomiya) (Miyako Inoue: Yolei Inoue) (Iori Hida: Cody Hida) The rest are the same names.

* * *

Darkness within the Light Ch 2

The second day when the sun would have rotted came. The only one still motionless in his sleep was none other than Takeru. Having been thinking and enduring pain throughout the night, his physical being took the toll. He was tired and recovering himself while indulging into sleep. Unfortunately, the recovery did not last long since his friend woke him up.

"Takeru? Wake up."

Rubbing his lazy eyes, he opened them up as he raised his back upward. After regaining his sight, he checked to see who had waked him up. It was his special friend, sister of Taichi, Hikari. She was sitting next to the couch which he slept on, staring at the sleepy boy. Takeru rubbed his eyes again before finally saying good morning to the girl who he shares a special bond with.

"Good morning, Hikari."

"Had a nice sleep?"

"Yeah…somewhat."

"Sorry. I should've just let you sleep on your own bed."

"It's fine. I'm alright. I sleep on the couch many days, so I'm used to it."

"Still, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's cool really."

He relieved her worry and asked her not to apologize as he got off the chair and stretched. Upon stretching his tired body, his eyes met the clock that hung in front of him. It indicated 2 P.M. which was 3 hours passed the promised time. In a hurry, he turned back to Hikari and asked if everyone else was already at the digital world.

"Is everyone already there?"

"Yeah. They already started playing around."

"Oh, crap."

He quickly grabbed a towel and ran into the shower. Rushing himself, he managed to clean himself as quick as 5 minute and came out of the shower, covering his body with the same towel he took in with. It was now perhaps more than 6 years since the two met each other. However, to Hikari, seeing Takeru's half naked body was something that embarrassed her. Before being friends, they were a boy and a girl. Being an innocent girl, she turned her eyes away from the blonde boy's body and suggested him to put on his clothes.

"Takeru…Put some clothes on."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

He quickly put on his attire and told her that she could turn around. She turned around slowly and spoke in her bright voice.

"Let's get going. The others are waiting."

"Yeah. Let's go."

The two entered the room with a computer and pointed their digivices towards it, entering the digital world. Immediately after passing through the gate, Hikari checked her digivice to find their friends' location. Like a radar, it indicated the stop with a glowing light on a map. Judging by the light's location, the group was at the peak of a humongous mountain. Soon, the two headed for the mountain summit to join their friends. Along the way, the two chosen children exchanged friendly conversations. Some were funny, some were serious, and some were personal. It was all possible to share these words and thoughts because the two were more than just an ordinary friend. They were more connected than just a friend. That is what Hikari felt. Ever since hearing that the two's crests are special, she began to grow more attached to the boy who bears the crest of hope. Because the two became so close, she was able to talk freely and depend on him without any doubt.

"Hey, Takeru. It's been a while since we're alone, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Since that time when you rescued me from the dark ocean."

"It really is memory I don't like."

"How come?"

"I thought I was gonna lose you forever."

"Did I scare you?"

"Quite a bit. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Hikari giggled at his sentence and Takeru laughed afterward, following her giggle.

"I still haven't thanked you properly, huh?"

"You don't have to. That's what friends do."

"Still, thanks so much for saving me."

"Any time."

He smiled at the girl who he saved. Then, he spoke to her that he couldn't say before as well.

"I'm sorry about that day."

"I said something that hurt you. Didn't I?"

"No, you were right. I needed to stop depending on my brother. I wasn't a little girl anymore. I should be thanking you for helping me realize that."

"Don't. I really am sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You said that because you cared about me, right?"

"I guess…so."

"Thanks for concerning about me."

She thanked him once again and smiled at her life savior. Perhaps that was the reason why she became more attached to the boy. She was rescued by a handsome boy, which is one of a girl's fantasies. That was more than enough to open her heart and share everything that she had. She genuinely believed that their bond was something special than just a classmate or a friend and believed that he thought the same too. They were partners of the light, the two's connection and similarity were undeniable. There was no awkwardness in the air. They were speaking freely and walking close by each other like a brother and sister. The two became oblivious to the surroundings as they were enjoying their chat and only came to realize where they were when Daisuke and Taichi yelled out to them.

"Hikari! Takeru! Hurry up!"

The two brown haired boys waved from the mountain top, sitting down and stuffing food in their mouth. The tardy duo waved back and hurried their walking. After going through some bushes, tress, and slopes, they joined their friends. As soon as they were close, both partner digimons jumped toward their friend and hugged them.

"You're so late, Takeru!"

"Sorry, Patamon."

"Hikari, you're late too."

"I was trying to wake Takeru up. I'm sorry."

They apologized for their delayed arrival and sat down to enjoy the picnic they prepared.

"You've been sleeping for sometime, Takeru."

"Sorry, Ken. I guess I was tired."

"At least you're here now. That's good."

"That's great and all, but why did Hikari come with Takeru?"

Daisuke asked in a jealous filled tone. Then, she began to explain.

"Takeru was tired since he didn't have a good place to sleep, so he overslept. I just volunteered to stay and wake him up."

"So it's your fault that Hikari is late too."

"I didn't try to be late, Daisuke."

"You should've slept a little earlier. You slept late. Didn't you?"

It was a pure guess, but what Daisuke spoke was the truth. He couldn't sleep until it was late after midnight because of the evil voice that hurt him and the ominous omen that he heard. Not wanting to reveal the incident about yesterday night, Takeru made a joke about Daisuke's remark.

"What are you, a fortune teller?"

"I knew it! Don't make other people waste their time for you."

"Yeah. I know I shouldn't. I'm sorry."

"As long as it's not Hikari you're causing trouble to. No sweat."

Daisuke's sentence was followed by Miyako's cunning words.

"You're so expressive about your feelings. Aren't you, Daisuke?"

"How brave of you to say that in front of her brother."

Taichi spoke as he playfully hit his back.

"Sorry, but I'm not giving my sister away to any guy so easily."

"Oniichan, I'm not a little girl anymore. I can date anyone I choose to."

"But you're not dating anyone, though."

"That's true…"

Hikari said as he glared at Takeru for a short instance. Then, Ken talked to his best friend.

"Isn't it great, Daisuke? You still have a chance."

"Yeah. I still have a chance."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, Ken."

Then, Miyako came back to the scene and troubled Daisuke's mind again.

"You still have to beat Takeru to achieve your goal."

"Whatever. I'm not gonna lose to you, Takeru!"

"Yeah…sure. Okay. Good luck, Daisuke."

Takeru said calmly unlike the fired up Daisuke who was eager to compete. The others laughed at the daily routine that Daisuke created. Even behind this fiery passion for competition, Daisuke contained more than just jealousy and envy towards his love rival. He never managed to completely express it, but he came to think of him as a valuable friend. Just like how Yamato had become Taichi's irreplaceable friend. The children spent more hours eating and talking to their friends and digimons. The chosen children enjoyed the day until Hikari had touched her head in agony. Everybody crowded her to see what was going on with her. Many questions were thrown to her, but she could answer none, for the pain she was experiencing was something much more intense than anything she felt before.

"Darkness…It's coming…"

"Darkness? What do you mean, Hikari?"

Taichi asked in a worried and rushed voice. Hikari did not answer and held her head tightly with her delicate hands, trying to relieve the aching pain. Soon, the environment became darker as if someone had blocked out the sun. The shadows grew longer and larger and the clouds in the sky dissolved away, leaving the sky free and clear. Instinctively, everybody looked up at the sky as soon as the light had started to vanish. Upon looking at the sky, the children realized that the sun's color was fading away. Parts of the sun were turning black as if an artist had dropped a black ink on the yellow color. It started from the very end of the right and progressed toward the left, trying to swallow the entire star with its blackness. Now, the sun had a dark crescent part to it. The area the dark part covered was truly insignificant compared to the total side that was still bright and yellow. The growth was slow and gradual. The black part was stretching further to completely engulf the sun. By this time, Hikari's moaning decreased as the pain had reduced momentarily. As soon as she regained her senses and recovered from the unbearable pain, her older brother interrogated her.

"Hikari, what's going on?"

"I don't know, Oniichan. I just felt an incredible darkness coming close."

"This is…don't tell me…"

Koshiro let a few words out before analyzing this situation on his laptop and researching about this current event.

"Hey, what's wrong? Do you have any idea what that is about?"

Mimi asked in a worried, shaken voice.

"Remember this kind of strange eclipse, everybody?"

Then, every old chosen child gasped and remembered the time when they saw a similar sight. It was when they defeated their final enemy, Apocalymon. The dark part was what indicated the gateway that connected the digital world and the human world. However, unlike the previous time, the dark part was growing larger instead of smaller.

"Do you think this involves the digital gate?"

Sora and Taichi asked the most intelligent of the group.

"Looking at it, it seems so. Although, it might be different. It's only an hypothesis, but this will probably widen the gate between the two worlds."

"Then, you mean…"

"It's as you imagine, everyone. The digital world and human world will permanently be connected."

"But what would happen if that happened?"

Mimi threw another difficult question. Like the last time, if the gate was open all throughout the world, digimons will cross the gate and reach the human world. Being foreign to the human world, the digimons would most likely go berserk, just like that time when dark towers were set everywhere in the world.

"It will be like the last time. Digimons will come to the human world. We'll have to send them back and close the gate manually with the D-3s that Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Takeru, and Hikari possess."

"But will that work? I mean, doesn't that signify that the gate is completely opened?"

"I'm not so sure. I don't even know if this indicates the gate between the digital world and the human world."

Koshiro answered numerous questions as he tapped his fingers on the laptop keyboard to search for an answer. They eagerly waited for Koshiro to find an explanation for this, but the answer did not come for a long time. Perhaps 20 minutes had gone by, the not even a thread of clue was found. What made this situation more frustrating was that the sun had ceased moving and stayed on one spot of the sky, slowly being eaten by the black mark. While waiting, Hikari twitched as she sensed something strange down the mountain. She turned around to see what the cause was, but it was concealed by the thick shield of trees. She focused her eyes into the trees to see if she can detect anything, but had no luck. Nothing was visible, only sensible. A strange aura was being released from that particular spot.

"Hey, everyone. There's something down there."

Hikari pointed at the direction and everybody took a good look.

"I don't see anything."

"There's nothing there, Hikari."

"Miyako's right, I can't see a thing."

"But…there really is something there. Can't you feel it?"

"I…can feel it…It's just barely, but I sense something there."

Ken spoke out his mind and confessed that he too, felt something from that tree area. Then, Taichi looked at all the previous chosen children and nodded.

"Guys, let's go check it out. There really might be something there."

"Heh? But nothing's there."

Daisuke spoke, confused. Sora, then, took her time to explain how they believe that something was there.

"Daisuke, you might not believe it, but Hikari can sense the presence of the supernatural. If she felt it, there's no denying it. Also, even Ken felt it. There's bound to be something there."

"I see…I knew Hikari was a special person."

"Stop being flattered by my sister's ability and start running."

"I'm sorry."

Everybody started running down the mountain and headed for the spot where Ken and Hikari detected a strange sensation. Hikari, being an expert at sensing, led the way. They made their way down and Hikari was trying to pinpoint the exact location of the aura. There were now in a thick forest and couldn't determine where they were. They were just silently following Hikari around.

"Is something really here?"

Miyako asked in a slightly scared tone.

"Yeah. Something really is here."

"Are we even getting closer?"

"We are, Iori. We're getting closer."

They constantly walked and walked until Hikari collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain once again.

"Hikari, you okay?"

Her brother and her admirer ran up to her to comfort her. Her face contained very painful expression. It was hard to imagine how hurtful it was for her, considering how she was dropping tears from her flawless eyes. Enduring her pain, she managed to let out a few words.

"It's just behind that tree."

"Is that what's hurting you?"

Losing her strength to talk, she nodded to answer Daisuke. Upon hearing that, Daisuke cracked his knuckles, arms, neck, and whatever body parts he can crack and walked towards the tree.

"Whatever it is, if it's hurting Hikari, I'll destroy it into pieces."

He, then, reached the tree and looked what was behind it. Daisuke made a shocked face and provoked everyone's curiosity which made them run there to see what made him shocked. Just like the goggle boy, everyone froze in place as they saw the culprit behind Hikari's suffering. Behind the large tree, the one that had been hurting Hikari so badly was no other than Takeru's motionless body. He was sitting down, resting his back against the tree, his head tilted downward, and missing his symbol of identity, his hat. His eyes were closed and appeared to be unconscious. The group's shock was about to be intensified, but they had no clue how surprising it would be and how terrible the shock degree would be.

* * *

End of chapter 2. sorry for not mentioning that I use japanese names. I just like it that way. sorry. that's just how i am.


	3. Chapter 3: The Change of Hope

Darkness within the Light Ch 3

Once coming to realization, he was now located in a remote place, far from any place he can relate himself to. No, that was wrong. He could completely relate himself to the sheer darkness which he was covered in right now. Nothing could be seen. Not his hands, his body, not his feet. It was as if he had lost his eyes and visions. The surroundings did not produce any sound at all. He could not smell anything either. It was as if all his senses were numbed by the deep darkness. Only thing he could do was walk, for he could still feel a solid ground with his feet. He ceaselessly walked, hoping to get himself out of the devastating place he was in. The very thing he despised was now all around him, torturing his mind. The very thought of the situation gave Takeru an inextinguishable hatred. He was getting frustrated and worried. His heart beat increased its speed rapidly, indicating his nervousness and fear about this cursed dimension. Despite hating this current situation, he felt an unusual familiarity and comfortableness towards this shadowy world. This was how he lived his life, concealed and shut in, never revealing his true feelings. He dwelled in the solitary dark world. Even so, he detested the darkness when he did not allow light in his world. After walking and thinking as countless minutes, perhaps hours passed, for the first time, his ears caught a sound.

"_Just like home, isn't it?"_

"You…"

He turned to where the voice came from, but could not see anything.

_"Afraid?"_

"I'm not afraid of the darkness. I just hate it."

"_Not afraid? You hate it? Still trying to fulfill your duty as the bearer of hope?_"

"That is who I am."

"_Don't bother. You no longer have hope for the world. You only had hope because the world was in danger. You only became the warrior who contained hope because it was forced on you._"

Takeru did not reply back, hearing what the mysterious voice had further to say.

"_Accept your true feelings now. Express your identity. Hope was there only because it had to be there._"

"No, hope was there because it was who I am."

"_Amusing. Hope, the catalyst that helps light to shine, doesn't allow the light to enter in his life. I know the reason_."

"…"

"_You're afraid of the darkness. And you fear the light because it might brighten you and reveal your true feelings. Once your true feelings are exposed, people would avoid you. That's why you're afraid of both the light and dark._"

"My true feelings stay the same."

"_Stop lying. What you hope for is nothing but an illusion. You hope that your family will be back together. You hope that you can become happy with the friends that you have. This is truly a fantasy._"

The voice did not cease talking and continued to explain why his hopes are illusions.

"_The truth is that you're alone in this world. Everybody hates you. No matter how much you love your parents, they abandoned your happiness to achieve their own. Your friend left you with an excuse that his death was to protect you. Reasons? Simple._"

The voice gave it a pause before breaking the shocking facts to the blonde boy.

"_You've become useless to your friends and they hated you for it. You knew this. That's why you've been always smiling around your friends, hoping that you could find your place where you belong. But that only leaves you vulnerable for other people to manipulate you and they already have."_

He couldn't fight back. It was agitating, but what the voice spoke to him was the truth. He worked hard and smiled and lived happily in hope that he could be acknowledged as a person, a friend, and an existence. That's what hope became for him. However, now he saw the flaw of his life style. He was living in the darkness and yet was hopeful for heartwarming event that someone would finally acknowledge him. He never wanted to fight the digimons and never wanted to suffer the pain of seeing other lives being taken away. He faked his smile to accept Ken as his companion to help the group stay together. Hikari, too, probably utilized him as a tool to free herself from the darkness. That is how he perceived it now.

"_Stop fleeing from the reality. Accept the present. Your hope is nothing but an unreachable dream. Why is it that you are being used for somebody else? Why do you exist then?_"

Then, Takeru genuinely gave himself a deep, profound thought. He wondered why he existed and what possible reason was there for him to continue existing.

"_Embrace your true feelings. Express your inner mind. Live for yourself and no other. Your hope is an obstacle that makes you a tool for other people's convenience._"

Without realizing, he was nodding his head, concurring to his words. Then, he came to realize that he was no longer containing fear of the darkness that engulfed him. Rather, he barely noticed and cared that he was still surrounded by darkness. Then, his face showed a hollow smile, the one which is made when one realizes the meaning of his own existence.

"I don't need hope anymore…"

His words echoed throughout the entire dimension and let Takeru hear what he said. A voice that was not his, words that were said without his intention in the solitary darkness, made him laugh. Then, the laughter echoed and resonated until it faded away slowly. By the time the noise had vanished from the dark world, Takeru closed his eyes and reopened them. Now, he was returned to the digital world and realized that he was surrounded by numerous people. Upon seeing that his eyes were opened, a brown haired boy yelled out to him on top of his lungs.

"When did you get here? And what happened to you?"

After looking at Daisuke's angry expression, Takeru made an arrogant grin and talked back with extremely calm in his voice.

"I can't understand a thing when you're shouting all over like that."

This shocked Daisuke. His attitude had altered so drastically. Daisuke, then, grabbed his shirt and talked in a quieter, yet angry tone.

"We were all worried sick and that's the attitude you have?"

"Why worried? Afraid that your tool might become unusable now?"

"Tool? Unusable? What are you talking about?"

Takeru scoffed and talked to the boy who held his shirt with his hands.

"Now, remove those paws off me."

This further shocked Daisuke. Now, both shock and fury was built up and Daisuke raised his other hand to punch the blonde boy, but was interrupted when Hikari broke the two apart by standing in between the two.

"Stop, Daisuke. It's alright. I'm not hurt anymore. We shouldn't be doing this to Takeru when we don't even know what happened to him."

"Tch, okay. I'm sorry."

Daisuke apologized and Hikari turned back and faced Takeru, trying to ignore the cold difference of personality. She spoke to him in a gentle voice.

"We were worried about you because you were unconscious. Are you alright?"

She touched his arm and saw if he was hurt anywhere as she finished her sentence. Then, Takeru scoffed once again and ended up laughing loudly.

"Worried that your tool might be damaged?"

"…What?"

"Now, let go. You're being annoying."

She made a confused, saddened expression. Losing patience, Takeru broke away from her grasp roughly and began walking away from there. Now, Daisuke's fury reached its maximum, but he did not express it since he thought calming down Hikari was the first thing to do. By this time, Takeru held his palm in front of him and opened the digital gate and disappeared through it. The gate began closing as soon as he was passed through. Just before completely vanishing, a sentence was heard.

"I live for no one. Farewell, pathetic mankind."

The rift that Takeru created was now gone and what was left were his hat and his D-3 right beside it. Only after he was gone from the scene, Daisuke shouted loudly on top of his lungs, cursing the boy who just hurt their feelings and disappeared..

"Takeru, you fucking bastard! How dare you say that! Hikari is what? Annoying? That piece of...!"

Wanting to release his anger, he punched the same tree that Takeru was resting his back on. After multiple strikes, Taichi grabbed his arm and stopped him from hurting himself further.

"Stop it, Daisuke. Focus. You're not the only one who's angry and confused."

"Sorry. Lost my temper."

The whole group was silent. The impact that Takeru left them was immense. His sudden change of personality, his arrogant, offensive words at his friends, and the fact that he traveled through the digital gate without a digivice shocked them greatly. Takeru was not like that ever. He was always a gentleman who never disregarded other people's feelings. Everybody, especially Ken, Daisuke, Iori, and Hikari, was at loss. Despite the age and sex difference, they all acknowledged him as one of the most gentle and caring person. And to those such as Ken and Iori, Takeru was someone they looked up to because of his constant bright personality and strong support of his friends. Daisuke was generally angry at him and Hikari was scarred to see the change of Takeru's persona. The older ones were unable to conceal their distress and disappointment. A reliable comrade, a friendly knight who always helps them, was now the complete opposite. After the shock subsided, Miyako stepped up and grabbed his D-3 and his hat.

"How did he open and travel through the digital gate without a digivice?"

Miyako threw out a puzzling question. She looked at the green digivice and the white hat, sitting flat on her hands. Her question was not answered. The chosen children were still recovering from the abrupt incident. After staying silent for a good 5 minute, the leader, Taichi, suggested on returning to home to first calm the storm in their minds. Nobody disagreed and began heading home. Once reaching the TV, the kids returned to their room, browsing through the gate and picking the right one. Everybody had gone except Taichi, Hikari, Miyako, and Iori. Since Miyako and Iori lived closed by, they remained last along with Hikari and Taichi.

"We'll be going now, Taichi-san."

"Yeah. See you later, you two."

"Then…"

"Ahh…wait…Miyako-san."

"What is it?"

"Can I…hold on to his things until he comes back…?"

Miyako looked at the depressed Hikari and agreed with a shiny smile that she usually has. She handed Takeru's green digivice along with his hat. Then, she said good bye to both and they passed through the gate, returning home. Once they were gone, Hikari held the hat and the D-3 firmly in her hand and hugged them tightly. She was shaking in fear and sorrow. Being a big brother, Taichi spoke a word of comfort confidently to his depressed little sister.

"Hikari. He'll be back. I promise."

"Yeah…thank, oniichan."

Despite the overwhelming shock and sadness, she managed to smile due to the words that her brother gave to her. It was strange, but the words that the leader of chosen children, her brother, had a magic that eradicates insecurity, known as one of the forms of courage.

* * *

As you can see, I use japanese honorifics. thats how i like it.


	4. Chapter 4: Approaching Danger

Darkness within the Light Ch 4

The valuable summer break's plan did not proceed due to the incident involving Takeru. Normally, the group scheduled the days to spend their time in the digital world, but now, they could not. None were in the festive mood. Many attempted to contact Takeru and consult him what was wrong, but he acted as if he did not know what they were talking about. Rather, he rarely made himself available for others to see him. With futile efforts and hearts sunken away, the summer break came to its end and the school session was at hand. For the first time in their life, Daisuke loved that the school was resuming. The reason behind this was to face Takeru and properly have a talk with the boy that angered him. The two were placed in the same classroom and the eager boy was happy to see a blonde guy sitting calmly in his seat, looking out the window. As desperate as Daisuke wanted to pummel him with words, unfortunately, he overslept and was forced wait until the lunch bell finally gave him the opportunity to talk to his nemesis.

"Hey, Takeru!"

Daisuke shouted softly and Takeru turned his head and faced him with disgust in his face.

"What do you want?"

He said very coldly. However, Daisuke was not surprised by his reaction since the anger he contained until now was getting the better of him.

"What the hell's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you, yelling at me like that?"

"Why are you acting so strange?"

Then, there was Takeru's frown again. He seemed unbelievably irritated.

"You weren't like this before. I thought you were a nice guy."

"I'm not nice to those who bother me."

"What?"

"Go away before you get me mad, Motomiya."

"I don't give a damn if you do. I'm not moving from this spot until you tell me what the hell has gotten into you and apologize to Hikari for what you said to her."

Upon hearing that, Takeru gazed at Hikari who had been looking at the two argue from the far side of the room. The two's eyes met and once they did, Hikari couldn't help but to flinch at the deadly stare that Takeru gave to her. It was bone crushingly scary. His eyes scared her as if she was a little girl who hears monsters creep in the darkness which she can't see. Unable to bear this sight, Hikari silently walked out of the classroom. Then, Takeru responded to the brown haired boy in front of him.

"I've got nothing to apologize. Why do you want me to apologize to someone? What's in it for you?"

He said cynically, with upmost confidence and arrogance in his voice.

"You're crazy, man. Why would I want anything out of this?"

"I know your true intention. You're gonna use me as a method of showing her your heroism and earn her respect and attention."

"What the hell?"

"I'm not gonna do it. Get some other moron to do your bidding."

"You piece of wortless…!"

Without finishing his last sentence with a curse word, he threw his punch against the arrogant blonde person. It was a quick and unexpected action and Takeru took the full force of Daisuke's punch. Upon receiving the impact, he fell off his chair and landed on his back on the hard floor. Daisuke stood still in front of him, waiting for a reaction. The fallen boy rose up, recovering from the strike that Daisuke delivered.

"You deserved that one."

"I don't think I deserve to get knocked around by a person like you."

"You deserved it the moment you called Hikari annoying and neglected your friends."

"Friends? I don't recall being friends with you."

Takeru said firmly to the brown haired boy. This infuriated Daisuke much further. Unable to bear this kind of treatment and attitude, he delivered another punch which landed on his face. Then, his opponent chuckled, in a mocking tone.

"What's so funny?"

"Is punching around a person what you call a friendship?"

"…"

Daisuke clenched fist tightly, lamenting the fact that he cannot argue Takeru's statement. He regretted punching him. Now, he could not convince Takeru further that they are friends. Takeru, then, let out a sentence.

"You never knew friendship to begin with. The courage you have is an illusion created to cover up your reckless actions. Think before you act."

After that, Takeru exited the room and left the school. As soon as Daisuke was left alone in the classroom, he began thinking deeply about his final words. It was hard to admit, but what he said to him was true. Always, he acted before thinking and called it being courageous and brave, but in actuality, it was just being pathetically reckless. And he never comprehended the meaning of friendship. Despite the fact that he is the inheritor of the crest of courage and friendship, he knew nothing of the two. Now, he even began doubting whether he deserves such position and questioned if he deserves the goggle that Taichi had passed on to him. His goggle was the symbol of leadership and Daisuke was proud to wear one. However, looking back now, he rues the fact that his actions were illogically reckless and brought danger to his dear friends. Contrary to him, Takeru always had been calm and thought about the best for his friends and comrades. He never got heated up and acted irrationally. He was by far the most adult person he came to know among the group of new chosen children. Daisuke grew envious of him. Not only because he was so close with Hikari, but because he was far ahead of him in the race called life.

"How much higher will you grow, Takeru? I'm jealous of your adult mentality."

He whispered to himself silently, expressing the emotion he always contained inside of himself. Takeru was a man, a rival, he could never comprehend. His mind was always somewhere far where he cannot follow. Now, Daisuke completely lost of how he could relate himself to Takeru. He transformed into a completely different person and was going somewhere even deeper where Daisuke cannot pursue. He felt enraged at himself. He couldn't help but to blame himself for not being able to measure up to Takeru's ability and mentality. Out of this frustration, Daisuke clenched fists extremely tightly. Daisuke's deep concentration on Takeru and thoughts were interrupted when Hikari returned to the classroom and tapped on his shoulder. She asked in a worried voice.

"Are you okay, Daisuke?"

"…Huh? Oh, Hikari. Yeah, I'm completely okay."

"But your hands…"

"My hands?"

He looked to see and realized that his hands were oozing blood from the solid clenching of hands. Then, he quickly reached for a box of tissue and wiped the blood off.

"What happened with Takeru?"

"I don't know, Hikari. I just can't understand what he's thinking."

"Did you two fight?"

"Kind of…with words. Although, I punched him a little…"

"You did…?"

"Sorry. I was just angry that he didn't want to apologize to you."

"Thanks for thinking about me, Daisuke."

"Yeah…"

Out the window, Daisuke and Hikari could see Takeru walking out of the school ground. He seemed like the same Takeru they still remembered in the adventures and events they were through with. Soon, he was gone out the two's sights and the two stood still in the vacant classroom. Daisuke was lost in thought and Hikari was still scarred and worried about Takeru. The silence was shattered when both Daisuke and Hikari received an email. The two checked the email and found out that it was an urgent email from Koushiro. In the email, the following was written.

"_Tentomon said something strange is going on in the digital world. I know you guys are busy students as well, but I'd like you guys to go on first and check out what's going on as soon as the school's over. We will join you when our school is done too."_

Then, another email came to them. This time, it was from Iori.

"_Since it looks like my school will be over quicker, I'll go ahead first and see what's going on. Take your time, everyone."_

Daisuke was genuinely curious of what was going on in the digital world and had no clue or prediction of the digital world's current situation. Hikari, on the other hand, being a veteran chosen one and experienced with this kind of situation, became afraid that a new enemy might have appeared. Daisuke was eager to solve his curiosity and Hikari was fearful of what she might encounter in the digital world. Many thoughts crossed the two's mind, but all they could do right at the moment was to wait patiently until the class was over. The lectures and studying meant nothing to them right now. What mattered to them the most was the ringing of the dismissal bell. After what seemed like an eternity, the awaited bell rang and Hikari and Daisuke dashed out of the classroom and headed to the nearest room that had a computer. After brief minutes of running, the two located a computer and took out their digivice as they turned on the computer. As the computer loaded up, they received another email by Iori.

"_Please come to the desert area. There is something here."_

As soon as they were finished reading it, the two quickly browsed through the digital map on the computer screen and opened the gate that leads to the desert area which Iori was in. Then, they help up their digivice and entered through the computer and arrived at their destination. As soon as they arrived, they checked the digivice to locate where Iori might be. The distance between them was not significant and they managed to locate Iori fairly quickly.

"Hey, Iori!"

Daisuke exclaimed as he was running to him. Upon seeing Daisuke and Hikari, Iori waved at them and greeted them first.

"Hi, Daisuke-san, Hikari-san."

"So, what was that something that you mentioned?"

"It's just behind that sand hill. Follow me."

The two followed the Iori and went up the sand hill and the two were surprised at what they saw. In an absolute mid air, there was a vortex, floating as it exuded energy. The vortex was strange and ominous looking. The vortex contained colors of tainted purple and mixture of black and dark blue, giving off very wicked feelings. Also, the vortex's surrounding looked like a shattered mirror. It was as if someone threw a rock at the mirror and created a hole with fractures near the hole. Despite the sinister energy it gave off, the vortex was considerably small, perhaps the size of a soccer ball.

"What is this?"

"I'm not so sure myself, Daisuke-san. Any idea of what this is, Hikari-san?"

"I don't know, but I can feel that it's evil. This is the same feeling that I felt on that day when Takeru…"

"So, this is the same material?"

Daisuke interrupted before she could finish the sentence, trying to make her not remember the harsh moment when Takeru insulted her.

"I guess it is."

"Is it hurting you right now?"

"To be honest, it's hurting me very slightly. Probably because of the size."

"So, something like this was around that time?"

"I don't know. I didn't see this and when I saw Takeru unconscious behind that tree, the pain stopped."

"Then, what in the world is this?"

Daisuke questioned, but nobody could answer him currently. This new threatening phenomena was the first sign of the beginning of an apocalypse. No one could foresee or predict that this was the symbol of doomsday that will erupt in a near future. The three chosen children could only speculate and imagine about this unusual occurrence and incident. Later on, all the chosen children joined the scene and took the time to look at the weird vortex. The new chosen ones could not see it, but all the previous chosen ones could see that danger and unleash of darkness upon the world was imminent.

* * *

I'm sorry I was late on updating. been busy. A short and a sloppy chapter, but it will get better. Enjoy reading and reviews might be nice. =)


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